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Friday, September 30, 2011

I can't say I'm saddened by the death of Anwar al-Awlaki. Actually I should be exuberant for his death has accomplished three things all the GOP talking points could never have done. It will absolutely destroy the last vestige of understanding held for Obama and his administration in the American Muslim community; Ground Zero Mosque be damned. It will split the Democratic Party along not just polite and subtle policy differences but out and out blood rage that that party hasn't seen since the days of LBJ. Lastly, it will irrefutably strip away any pretence of coherence in domestic or foreign policy the Obama may still hold in the public mind. How does an administration that cannot even voice the phrase "war on terror" gun down an American citizen who was never accused, much less convicted of overt terrorism? Al-Awlaki was a guy with a YouTube account not an AK47. Where is the coherence between the solemn pontificating about the rights of the accused imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay whose legal rights can only be protected in a federal court in New York City and the slaying of an Al-Qaeda propagandist who happened to be an American citizen.. This administration has nominated for the federal bench candidates who would find al-Awlaki's videos and writings to be protected free speech.

Much is made of the rift in the Republican party between the Tea Party and establishment Republicans but that rift is apt to look like an intramural touch football game compared to the upcoming rage from the loony left of the Democratic Party. In the coming weeks we can expect calls for Obama's impeachment. He will, not by any Republican, but by members of his own party be called a murderer and a war criminal. He may have all but assured himself a challenge to his nomination. Of course everyone noticed that it was Obama, not his press aides, not some functionary in the Department of Defense who rushed to the microphone to announce al-Awlaki's death. He should bite his tongue!

So it's all over the news today that the Left is obsessed with Chris Christie's weight, since it's rumored he too may enter the presidential fray, not to mention the news media who just can't see a person who isn't skinny and isn't obsessed with working out as the current POTUS. Read this, for example, at the Washington Times:

The prospect of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as a presidential candidate must vex the liberal media. From out of nowhere, a lavish discussion of Mr. Christie’s weight has erupted in the press, providing a veritable smorgasbord for journalists intent on proving that (a) Mr. Christie would be physically incapable of holding the job, (b) voters would be turned off by a First Fat Guy and (c) chubby people can’t control themselves and therefore can’t control the country.

SHARPTON: So what I think we should do is put Governor Christie in jail for 90 days. No, you don’t want real people on my diet. But I do think that it is very important that we do stress, I think Mika’s right, the obesity problem.

In fact, skinny POTUS is so obsessed with his workout that he's willing to shut down a neighborhood when he is in a different city and wants to go to a gym. As usual, this information can be found at a European website about an incident in LA:

A 40‑strong motorcade comprised of blacked-out SUVs, Cadillacs and two armoured limousines was parked outside the building. SWAT teams lined the rooftops – their black balaclavas just visible in the sunlight – and above, a Vietnam-style helicopter presence was starting up. President Obama had come to stay.

He's skinny, but he doesn't travel light. He needs at least a 40 strong motorcade; surely he could pick a hotel that has a fitness room or carry some equipment (have you ever used a TRX, Mr. POTUS?) in one of those 40 heavy vehicles, but noooo... Anyway, the British paper follows the Obama workout commentary with remarks about Christie's heft, pointing out that American comedians are already picking on Christie, not that they ever did that for tubbies Sharpton or Nadler or any leftie fatties:

There’s a problem, though. Christie is a large man – large enough to inspire talk-show host David Letterman to feature a Top Ten list of reasons Christie could never get into the White House. They include: “He’d have to hire a Secretary of Cake”, “Taxpayers would have to pay for the President’s second seat on Air Force One” and “The new national anthem would have to be the Chili’s Baby Back Ribs song”.

A producer friend puts it more brutally: “Christie’s eloquent, clever and likeable, but weight is too much of an issue in the US – too much of an Achilles heel. America was ready for a black president, but it’s not ready for a fat president.” There’s always another barrier to break down.

"I mean, there are a lot of things we can do," Obama said. "The way I think about it is, you know, this is a great, great country that had gotten a little soft and, you know, we didn't have that same competitive edge that we needed over the last couple of decades. We need to get back on track."

That sort of presidential nagging, whether concerning literal or figurative softness, about various aspects of our personal habits, behavior and traditions has become the new normal.

We might issue a warning, however, to our high and mighty overlords of the Left and the media.Have y'all in the White House and press seen this map, from the government's very own website?

Yes, that's right.

A good number of the US are FATTIES, wiping the Doritos grease off our fingers as we tap our keyboards to read the latest news.

So before you go about criticizing Chris Christie's weight, especially if he, the moderate Christie, decides to run for president, you might remember that your Heckle and Jeckel crowing is also directed at all of US, the voters.

You remember this, don't you?

We, the fat people of the United States who are always getting lectured by YOU, the anointed.

“ We the FAT People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Controlling what you eat and how much is not easy, and it’s harder for some people than for others. But it’s not as difficult as curing a chemical addiction. With a determined, disciplined effort, Christie could thin down, and he should -- because the obesity epidemic is real and dangerous. And the president inevitably sets an example.

Unfortunately, the symbolism of Christie’s weight problem goes way past the issue of obesity itself. It is just a too- perfect symbol of our country at the moment, with appetites out of control and discipline near zilch. And it’s not just symbolism. We don’t yet know much about Chris Christie. He certainly makes all the right noises about fiscal discipline and seems to have done well so far as governor of New Jersey. Perhaps Christie is the one to help us get our national appetites under control. But it would help if he got his own under control first.

Really? Really? Have you ever seen a fat man walking down the street accompanied by his exactly-the-same-body-type child? Is it ALL attributed to too many Doritos? And what's this about the "symbol of our country at the moment, with appetites out of control and discipline near zilch"? Doesn't that PERFECTLY describe our current stick thin POTUS, who is the biggest spender of all our presidents, so much so that even POLITIFACT acknowledges it?

So by this measurement -- potentially a more important one -- Obama is the undisputed debt king of the last five presidents, rather than the guy who added a piddling amount to the debt, as Pelosi’s chart suggested. Of course, all this goes to show that statistics can be used -- and misused -- to bolster almost any argument.

We have to admit what we have here in our current POTUS. He's a diva. A diva with an enormous ego, an unsatiable desire for more money and power and a need to blame everyone but himself for all the troubles in the country. So, yeah, I'll take a fat guy who enjoys a good steak, tries to work out occasionally only to collapse exhausted in front of "the game," and who can relate to the trials and tribulations of trying to make it on what you got in life over a skinny, prancing DIVA who has to have an aide carry an umbrella over him when it wains a wittle bit. Maybe our DIVA IN CHIEF ought to take a lesson from his mentor, Jimmy Carter, and carry his own umbrella.

Running Springs is a pleasant little town in the San Bernardino Mountains in California with people who watch out for one another and their property, which is one reason so many people own guns. (That, and LA is just down the mountain.)

Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear Lake down the road are more upscale but equally pleasant and benign.

The community has not forgotten and will not forget what was done to Allen Kephart.

Recently another deplorable incident occurred in Running Springs involving a man who owned guns of all types.

This man, Randy Rusciolelli, was well known in the Running Springs community. He had the unfortunate problem of becoming involved with a girlfriend who turned out to be a nightmare stalker who would not leave him alone.

He reported the stalker to the police, requesting they look at phone records, etc., to verify his story. Instead of helping Mr. Rusciolelli the police responded to the woman's phoned in complaint and arrested Mr. Rusciolelli.

Rusciolelli, a 20-year full-time resident who owned a plumbing company, was arrested at his Firwood Drive home Sept. 2 after his unidentified one-time girlfriend phoned sheriff's department dispatchers to say he had threatened to kill her and that he had numerous weapons at his home.

Authorities obtained a search warrant and arrested Rusciolelli after he reportedly tried to flee on foot, reportedly armed with a loaded pistol. Rusciolelli's letter did not comment on why he attempted to flee.

What happens next is truly horrifying and fully explained in the death letter Mr. Rusciolelli wrote for the community.

His story needs to be heard.

Repeatedly yanked off the internet is his complete letter. As of this writing, it is still posted on this thread.

The following is the heartbreaking death letter of a man whose possession of guns was used against him by a bitter, irrational stalker.

From Randy RusciolelliJourney Man PlumbingAn open letter to the Mountain CommunitiesI was a collector of fine firearms both military and commercial. The actual value of the firearms and ammo taken from me was $283,000.00. The terrorist threat charge was made against me by a girl I broke up with over 4 months ago. She had called at all hours of the day and night and the Sheriff’s have the evidence in both our phone records. I called for help over 3 different months to no avail. Recently she broke into my house through a dog door and changed my email password and stole several items of mine. I never threatened her life and had only called her 2 times in the last 3-4 months. To her ever increasing attacks on me, all I can say to the Sheriff’s is “Total shame on you”. When I was arrested, they had already possessed both our phone records and recordings of my alleged threats and no corroborating witnesses. The explosive charges against me are for possessing more than 1 pound of sporting (Goex) black powder, possessing military tracer rounds illegal in California, but legal in Arizona, Nevada and other states, and for a destructive device that is a $250.00 black powder golf ball commercially manufactured and clearly stamped for “Black Powder Only” with a fuse hole in the base.I possess only 1 California Assault weapons license that was issued to me in 1990. Notice that the enclosed license is marked temporary as no permanent one was ever issued. I can only fire one rifle at a time but regardless, they discovered an additional 5 banned rifles without permits. In 47 years, I have absolutely no criminal or civil record. My bail was set at half a million dollars and most likely will be raised to 1.5 million in my next court appearance. I am not a survivalist, paramilitarist, nor a right or left-winger. I am an American citizen who loves to go into the desert to shoot rifles, pistols and shot guns. I wished I could have had a 155mm Howister canon too, but I did not. My guns have never killed any living thing, and in my 31 years of target shooting, no harm has ever been inflicted upon any beings. I read the articles about my arrest, and I am astounded by the fact that these officers lied about how they even came to arrest me. Please re-read the articles again. I found out this 47 year old girlfriend has a history of attacking and suing her last 3 boyfriends. This is a fact that I have found out too late. The police have recording of her on tape admitting to have broken into my house. During the breach, she managed to open my computer and proceeded to change my email, passwords and other devious things. I have owned my house on Firwood drive in Running Springs for 20 years, and in one day I lost my house, closed my business and had every item taken from me of significant value that I had collected over the span of my lifetime. I spent 6 days in jail and after posting bail of $500,000.00, I got out and spent time with my parents, family, and my dog. Within days of this, I had to go back to court and the judge immediately issued a criminal restraining order against me. “Amazing”! I cannot let my freedom be placed in control by our present justice system. I have consulted with many top lawyers, and all advised me that 10 years ago, this search warrant would have been illegal; not anymore.

We Americans are losing too many of our rights under the guides [guise] of terrorism laws. The bottom line is that the above stated violations will result in a 6 year stay in state prison with the lowest end being a 1 year term with felony conviction. I apologize to all that know me, but I cannot handle that I am now penniless, homeless and about to lose my freedom over my zealous collecting. Thank you for all the times we had. It is better to die a free and armed man than a broke, imprisoned and un-armed one.

I listen to a lot of talk radio. The best on the air are the Midnight Radio guys, who air from 1:00 am to 6:00 a.m. EST. They talk out of Texas. Their podcasts are available here and their Facebook page, which is chock full of good stuff, is here. Though their primary audience is geared to truckers on the road all night, that conversation is isolated to a few hours a week. Their primary topics include politics, the economy, the productivity of the American workforce and so on. I've learned more from them than any other commentators. Why? Because they are incisive and logical AND they play numerous clips that verify whatever points they make. FYI.

Eloquent Al Sharpton has taken off his bedroom slippers and is putting on his marching boots. Yes, the hero of the Tawana Brawley hoax will be marching for jobs. He will join union members, the NAACP and La Raza at a demonstration at the National Mall in support of Obama's mythical jobs bill. “We will bring forth the masses who have not been heard in the midst of the jobs debate,” said Sharpton. " Resist we much"!

Hooray for Oregon. It won $5 million and distinguished itself as the leader in food stamps. Since 2008 it has increased food stamp participation by 60 percent. The administration actually awarded Oregon a $5 "million performance bonus". From Judicial Watch;

It marks the fifth consecutive year that Oregon has been “recognized” by the federal government for “exceptional administration” of the entitlement program, according to the announcement posted on the state’s Department of Human Services web site. The state official who runs SNAP assures that her staff will “continue working very hard to exceed expectations” so that Oregonians can “put healthy foods on their table quickly.”

This guy takes my breath away! America has gotten soft? It could be that the new leisure class that depends on government entitlements have lost some muscle tone and mental acuity but I'm sure they're not who the President had in mind. It could be that well connected industrialists have eschewed competitive capitalism and become reliant on corporate welfare, as doled out in the stimulus bill, and partnered with the government in venture socialist endeavors. It could be that Wall Street bankers lost the capitalist ethic while they fattened themselves on Tarp loans. It could be that public sector employees are not what one would call the personification of the Protestant Ethic as they are the natural step brothers of the dependent leisure class. It could be when this clown finds his sorry ass back in Chicago he won't be much missed.

The video below shows an the accidental death of an eagle. Such occurrences are very, very common. By the American Bird Conservancy's estimate 440,000 birds are killed each year by wind farms but when 28 ducks landed by mistake in an oil waste pit in North Dakota the US attorney charged 7 oil companies with violating the Migratory Bird Act.
As Jack Dini wrote in the Canada Free Press:

"When it comes to protecting America’s wildlife, environmental organizations and federal law enforcement officials have a double standard: one that’s enforced against oil, gas and electric utility sectors, and another that exempts wind and solar power from prosecution despite evidence of a multitude of violations."

There’s more: In July 2009, Pacificorp agreed to pay $10.5 million in fines, restitution and equipment upgrade costs for the deaths of at least 232 golden eagles, 46 hawks, 50 owls and nearly 200 other birds that had been electrocuted in Wyoming since January 2007. The cost per bird computes to a little less than $20,000.

It doesn't seem right to prosecute anyone for an accidental bird death but the environmental left and the US government perpetrate a greater injustice when the selectively prosecute oil, gas and conventional electric utilities while they turn a blind eye to wind farms that mow them down by the hundreds of thousands.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Old Riley in New Orleans is keepin' 'em dancin' outside his house, where several huge anti-Obama signs have been erected. Pretty funny how angry all the neighbors get, who seem like they're trying to work themselves up into a lather as the day wears on; interesting that the City Councilwoman trots her fat hiney over there and tries to reason with Riley, too, and when she doesn't get anywhere with him she stalks out of his house and conjectures to the news reporters that probably since the signs are so gol darned BIG, there must be a law that can charge old Riley with. Watch and laugh. And remember. "They'd never do this to Bush."

We offer this without commentary. This was a poll that was overlooked; Investors.com has a rundown of it in an article called A Muslim President, After All:

And many see him as one of their own. One in 10 say they think the president is a Muslim, while a third say they don't know or refused to answer.

Nonstop pandering has also made Obama popular in the Muslim community.

He's appointed a record number of Muslims to his administration — including at least three radical Muslim Brotherhood agents to White House jobs, according to Muslim reformer Tarek Fatah. And he's killed Justice Department probes of Muslim Brotherhood front groups at home, while paving the way for Brotherhood-run theocracies abroad.

Muslims also are in Obama's corner because he's vowed to provide more "social services" for them — including "jobs, education, health care and civil rights" — as part of his new PC counterterror program.

Janeane Garafolo is a quite breathtakingly, well, ignorant. In her latest pearl of wisdom we find that the Tea Party is fueled by corporate interests. Karl Rove (establishment Republican anti-Tea Partier) tries to hide the racism of the Tea Party by encouraging people like Herman Cain to run on the Republican ticket. Cuz, see, Tea Partiers are homophobic racists who hide behind, um, Herman Cain. She doesn't appear to be on drugs when she speaks these wise words. She appears to be in her right mind. Even comparing her opinions to those of Herman Cain is pretty much an outrage but oh well. Watch and decide:

So this is the email Michelle Obama sent out to followers (and we do mean followers, as in, cult) of POTUS:

Not everyone knows how to prepare for a dinner like this. As someone who's eaten countless meals with my husband, I want to tell you the one thing to do if you're selected to join him...

Just relax. Barack wants this dinner to be fun, and he really loves getting to know supporters like you.

I hope you'll take him up on it before Friday's deadline.

Will you donate just $3 today and be entered to have dinner with Barack?

These dinners mean a lot to Barack. They're a chance for him to talk with a few of the people who are driving the campaign -- and a chance for him to say thank you.

So come prepared to tell your story, and say whatever's on your mind.Don't miss the opportunity to be there. Donate $3 or more today, before the September 30th deadline:

https://donate.barackobama.com/Dinner

Thanks,Michelle

Just relax. Barack wants this dinner to be fun... Ewww. Why does this sound so, um, sexual? Only, like, in a BAD way. Why do these two think this kind of language is appealing? FLOTUS likes to make remarks about how "sexy" her husband is. And flirt in public. Stuff most of us don't really want to hear or see. All that smooching by Moochelle in public is unappealing. Really unappealing. But it probably works for the cultist following they've got. I repeat. Ew.

A CNN/ORC poll indicates that only 15 percent of Americans trust the government to do what is right just about always or most of the time. This is a new low. Last September that number was 25 percent. Seventy-seven percent of people questioned say they trust the federal government only some of the time, and an additional eight percent volunteer that they never trust the government to do what's right. The previous low was 17 percent in 1994. Democrats are more trusting than Republicans but about two third thirds of Democrats rarely trust the government.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Let me assure everyone that if Bev Perdue isn't worried about the next election she should be. Public Policy Polling polled North Carolina voters earlier this month and Perdue was lagging behind Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory 45 to 41 percent. Her approval rating did jump after she displayed real competence in the handling of hurricane Irene. She was still upside down in her approval but moving in the right direction. As to what she said about suspending elections; she meant it. Then again she was talking about congressional elections not her own. To me, the most appalling part of her idea was to tell Congress that no matter what they decide we won't hold it against them. Sure build as many Solyndra's as you like, buy the Mexican drug gangs more AK47's in the new stimulus bill, and extend unemployment benefits until age 65. Her is the Governor in her own words.

The story all over the news today is North Carolina Governor Beverly Purdue's remark that it'd be great if we just skipped the next election and let the politicians do what they want to clean up the country without the voters holding any of their decisions against them:

“I think we ought to suspend, perhaps, elections for Congress for two years and just tell them we won’t hold it against them — whatever decisions they make — to just let them help this country recover. I really hope that someone can agree with me on that,” said the North Carolina governor, a Democrat. “You want people who don’t worry about the next election.”

Naturally this created a hubbub, particularly in light of former Obama advisor Peter Orsag's plea to limit democracy:

To solve the serious problems facing our country, we need to minimize the harm from legislative inertia by relying more on automatic policies and depoliticized commissions for certain policy decisions. In other words, radical as it sounds, we need to counter the gridlock of our political institutions by making them a bit less democratic.

Now, mind you, the inertia was caused by the fact that the Tea Party Republicans did not go along with Democrats' plans to fundamentally transform restructure our society. See, if there were less democracy, then Democrats and politicians could do whatever they wanted without the pesky intervention of voters' wishes or contrary opinions. Sound like ademocracy? It's like those millionaire JERKS who want POTUS to raise their taxes. One even got up and whined about it the other day at an obviously scripted event. (Sidenote: don't POTUS and his people get tired of the scripting? the fainting women? the obviously preselected questioners? Mr. President: What has disappointed you the most?) Professor Jacobsen noticed that the millionaires don't want to have to pay for their own organization:

The Donate button leads to a donation page where these patriotic millionaires are happy to take your credit card billing information or allow you to pay via PayPal to support their efforts.So how patriotic are these millionaires?Not so patriotic that they will voluntarily pay extra taxes to the government, and not so patriotic that they will pay for their own campaign to raise other people’s taxes.

So the Patriotic Millionaires can't be bothered to actually just donate charitably to the government or even pay for their own damn organization. What they'd like is to control the behavior of others who are not of like mind. All this hankering for millionaire higher taxes is about controlling the behavior of others. Peter Orsag's comments aren't about fixing the country. In his mind, fixing the country is about getting to do what he wants unfettered by others' disagreements. Which brings me back to Purdue, whose comments were obviously not comedic, as her people are trying to declare now. The woman claimed she wanted someone else to join her in her quest to suspend elections. (Sidenote: if we actually DID suspend elections, does anybody think we'd ever get them back?) Not only is Purdue under investigation, she also objected to and vetoed a voter ID law, claiming that it would deprive some people of their rights:

Besides being anti-democratic, Perdue’s proposal is also quite ironic. At the end of June, Perdueissueda press release trying to justify her veto of a voter-ID bill passed by the state legislature. In it, she said that the “right to choose our leaders is among the most precious freedoms we have — both as Americans and North Carolinians. North Carolinians who are eligible to vote have a constitutionally guaranteed right to cast their ballots, and no one should put up obstacles to citizensexercisingthat right.” She also erroneously claimed that the bill would “unnecessarily and unfairly disenfranchise many eligible and legitimate voters.”

So it's not that THEY should have to follow any rules or laws; they just want everyone else to have to do what THEY want. Unfortunately, these people all share the same qualities. And, Governor Purdue, we WON'T suspend elections because we WANT you to worry about your next election. We also want to be able to vote you OUT.

The Quinnipiac poll taken in Ohio shows Romney leading the Republican field with 24 percnt of registered Republicans. The poll finds Rick Perry in second place with 20 percent. Sarah Palin takes third with 9 percent and Herman Cain comes in fourth with 7 percent. In a head to head match up Perry bests Romney 42 to 38 percent. Running against Obama Perry gets 41 to Obama's 44 percent while Romney get 42 to Obama's 44 percent. In a national poll, Rasmussenfinds Obama leading beating Cain 39 to 34 percent.

Republican Congressman Cliff Sterns who chairs the House Subcommittee and Investigation issued a letter to Planned Parenthood on September 15 requesting financial records going back 12 years within two weeks. That means they are due tomorrow. The committee will investigate allegations of improper billing, over billing and commingling of government with PP abortion funds, and failure to report minor sex abuse. Planned Parenthood has lined up it Congressional allies, such as Henry Waxman and Diana DeGette and reached out to its media friends to spin this investigation as some latter day witch hunt. Americans United for Life, a PP critic has released its own report finding among other things that far from being a minor part of its business, abortion accounts for 37 percent of PP's revenues. One might wonder if all of this is leading to an outright defunding of PP after the 2012 election when a Herman Cain, Rick Perry, or Michele Bachmann would not be the sort of President PP would want for an enemy.

If you've been watching the way the feds are treating Gibson Guitar, you need to read this article over at National Review. We've discussed the federal treatment of Gibson in previous posts here and here. Gibson's supposed offense? The feds suspect that the Republican owned Gibson used rosewood and ebony illegally harvested, even though there is no evidence of such an offense. In fact:

In other words, a U.S. agency is enforcing foreign labor laws that the foreign government doesn’t even think were violated.

Gibson isn't the only business to be abused by the federal government.

This abusive treatment of a legitimate business like Gibson is not an isolated incident. Small businesses have been similarly raided, and their officers imprisoned, for such minor offenses as importing lobster tails in plastic rather than cardboard (three men were given eight-year prison sentences) and sloppy labeling on imported orchids (the accused was given a 17-month sentence).

This article goes on to discuss the various methods the feds use to get the smaller fish in a business to comply with whatever the feds demand:

If they choose to fight, they face the full wrath and fury of the feds. In the Gibson raids, the SWAT teams were deployed even though Gibson had offered its full cooperation to investigators. Such raids are increasingly used to intimidate citizens under suspicion. The orchid importer, a 65-year-old with Parkinson’s, was shoved against a wall by armed officers in flak jackets, frisked, and forced into a chair without explanation while his home was searched.

So the minor employee in the business is threatened with jail time for such minor unrelated infractions as "smoking a joint" on some other occasion. This way he or she complies with the thuggish behavior of the law enforcement officials involved. We respect our law enforcement officials; this is part of the conservative mindset. But there comes a time when citizens must fight the kind of creeping, invasive and vindictive behavior that is being exhibited in these cases. As the article at NRO indicates, enforcement of the law was meant to protect citizens from the destructive violent behavior of criminals. Not imprison an old guy for sloppy labeling on orchids.

Dick Morris has a post at the Hill and his findings are fireworks. Black voters are putting on their marching boots and walking away from Obama. According to a Washington Post/ABC News pollhis favorability rating among blacks has plunged from 83 percent five months ago to a mere 58 percent today — a drop of 25 points, a bit more than a point per week! Conventional wisdom said this would never happen but with the unemployment rate among blacks hovering around 16 percent and the emerging popularity of Herman Cain Obama could find himself underwater with his strongest base. Among all voters, the class warfare trick hasn't worked either. Since his much touted speech to the joint session of Congress, Obama's job approval rating has dropped one point but his favorbility rating has dropped from 50 to 47 percent. As Morris points out the class warfare statedgy is based more on faith and intution than objective polling data. With Fast and Furious, Light Squared, and Solyndra gathering more mainstream attention daily and a bleak economic forecast maybe it's time to put on the jump boots.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Don't Cry For Me Carolina. North Carolina Governor Beverly (Evita) Perdue has a novel idea. Suspend elections. Her office is trying to walk back that idiotic suggestion, claiming she was using hyperbole to make a point. Those attending the speech at a Rotary Club luncheon said she appeared serious. Taken out of context? What was the context? Establishing a dictatorship? Here are her complete remarks.

"You have to have more ability from Congress, I think, to work together and to
get over the partisan bickering and focus on fixing things. I think we ought to
suspend, perhaps, elections for Congress for two years and just tell them we
won't hold it against them, whatever decisions they make, to just let them help
this country recover. I really hope that someone can agree with me on that. The
one good thing about Raleigh is that for so many years we worked across party
lines. It's a little bit more contentious now but it's not impossible to try to
do what's right in this state. You want people who don't worry about the next
election."

She probably isn't the only Democrat who would like to see the next election go away.

The Obama administration pressured Ford to pull an ad featuring a Ford buyer saying he wasn't going to buy a vehicle from any company that received a government bailout because it was un-American. Dan Howes of the Detroit News writes; The White House questioned whether the copy was publicly denigrating the controversial bailout policy CEO Alan Mulally repeatedly supported in the dark days of late 2008, in early '09 and again when the ad flap arose.With President Barack Obama tuning his re-election campaign amid dismal economic conditions and simmering antipathy toward his stimulus spending and associated bailouts, the Ford ad carried the makings of a political liability when Team Obama can least afford yet another one. Can't have that.The ad, pulled in response to White House questions (and, presumably, carping from rival GM), threatened to rekindle the negative (if accurate) association just when the president wants credit for their positive results (GM and Chrysler are moving forward, making money and selling vehicles) and to distance himself from any public downside of his decision.In other words, where presidential politics and automotive marketing collide — clean, green, politically correct vehicles not included — the president wins and the automaker loses because the benefit of the battle isn't worth the cost of waging it.

President Obama has promised everyone that just because GM and Chrysler got close to $100 billion in government money didn't mean that the government would start bullying the companies to do its bidding. But evidently bullying their rivals that didn't take government money is just fine. The ad video has been scrubbed from YouTube. Home and change!

The taxpayers picked up at least part of the bill for illegal firearms sent to the MexicanSinaloa drug cartel. John Dodson was the first ATF whistle blower who took his story of operation Fast and Furious to Sharyl Attkisson of CBS News, setting in motion the investigations and drama that have unfolded since March of this year. What readers must know from this post is; Fast and Furious was not a botched sting operation but rather a deliberate effort on the part of the ATF to send guns to Mexico. Official ATF documents and sources in both Arizona and Washington D.C. confirm that in at least two instances in 2010, agents of the United States government purchased guns from licensed federal firearms dealers with taxpayer money and delivered those weapons directly into the hands of cartel smugglers. Agent John Dodson was one of those who was instructed to facilitate one of these transfers. It's unclear, but maybe to protect himself, Dodson demanded this letter from his supervisor, David Voth but the letter speaks for itself. Bob Owens at Pajamas Media has a long post on this development as does David Codrea at Gun Rights Examiner.

Rick Perry has tumbled by more than 20 percentage points over the past month among Republican presidential primary voters and is now second to Herman Cain, who leads the field with 28%.

And:

If the Republican primary for President were held today, for whom would you vote?

Candidate

Sept 26

Sept 12

Aug 29

July 25

July 11

June 30

June 21

Herman Cain

28%

12%

8%

18%

16%

15%

15%

Rick Perry

18%

37%

41%

-

-

-

-

Mitt Romney

17%

14%

12%

17%

15%

14%

15%

It looks like those racist Republicans are turning to a little class warfare themselves, as they appear at this moment to be rejecting standard issue elite Republicans' recommendations regarding who should be the next president. Rush has mentioned several times that establishment Republicans, those Kevin DuJan calls "cocktail party Republicans" and are disturbed to be thus named, don't want to reduce the size of government at all. They like the power and size of government just as it is. They just want their turn at the cash register. Now that Herman Cain has emerged as a possible upper tier candidate, undoubtedly the long knives will come out for him: whispers about his cancer, turmoil over his Muslim oath of allegiance claim, rumors that his "inexperience" might cause trouble for the country, as if who we have now isn't more trouble than any preceding POTUS. This same poll shows Obama's support improving among his base, something the poll claims is being "shored up." This was movement from 39% to 42%, due, the poll claims, possibly to POTUS's increasingly divisive, angry heated rhetoric:

Our results may indicate Obamas jobs program and a more combative tone toward Republicans is beginning to shore up his support with the party base.

Of course, the jobs bill ("Pass this bill! Pass this bill!) has not YET been delivered to Congress because no Democrat wants his/ her name on it, POTUS never intended it to pass, and it's no way no how paid for anyway. John Zogby's polls have proven to be fairly accurate over time; he is a Democrat but calls his polling group non partisan. The gaffes Cain has made so far have been inexperienced, non politician type gaffes. Many political analysts are crowing over Romney's debate performances, but debate is not a requisite for governing a country. And he's been running for president for 5 years. SHOULDN'T he be by now? Wouldn't it be interesting if Herman Cain could pull this one out.